The Bravest Viking
by Rift-Raft
Summary: Hiccup had always loved to adventure. Valhallarama should have remembered this before she let him wander near the forest. Oneshot, sorry for upload confusion!


**Hey, guys! It's my birthday today and I'm really happy about it…so here's the bright, fluffy madness like promised in my last oneshot!**

**Just a note: imagine all the speech as if they really do have Scottish accents. I find that literally typing out all of the words in an 'accent' really detracts from the work, so I only have the 'obvious' parts of the accent in there.**

**Sorry about the upload confusion, I had to edit something on here and forgot!  
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><p>"Careful, careful, <em>careful!<em>"

The little boy let out a huff at his mother's attitude, clearly having no intentions of following her orders. Valhallarama simply raised an eyebrow in response and watched the child continue to—stupidly—poke at a snake with a wooden stick. It was a simple garden snake, but its strike was blindingly fast and terribly painful for a little ten-year-old.

"I'm warnin' ye, Hiccup, that'll do ye no good!" She admonished him. He made a grunting sort of noise, too lost in annoying the 'mysterious creature' (A.K.A. the poor snake being stabbed at with a stick), and continued with his studying of the little green-and-brown serpent. The obese woman crossed her arms and sighed, knowing all too well that her inquisitive son would very quickly figure out _why _exactly Vikings don't poke sticks at snakes.

The snake slowly turned and began to slither away, too cold to bolt like it usually would. Hiccup let out a disdaining cry and followed it in his huge, oversized boots, dorky double-horned helmet, and, _of course_, that stupid stick.

Valhallarama gave up then. If Hiccup was so intent on studying the snake, then he would learn the hard way that not everything was going to be nice to him. She closed her eyes and massaged the corners, counting down the seconds with dread—

"_Aaaah!_"

Hiccup screamed bloody murder and scrambled to his mother, stick and snake forgotten, squeezing a hand tightly with a face as white as new-fallen snow. Tears welled up in those adorably huge green eyes as they pleaded for help. The boy's mother sighed again at his scrunched-up face, gently hugged the child. He squeezed her tightly for comfort, sniffling loudly and lip quivering.

Valhallarama crouched down to his eye level and gently pulled him away from her. "Let me see it," she cooed. "It's okay."

Rubbing his red eyes, Hiccup held out both hands, one still tightly grasping the other. He whimpered when his mother carefully pried the two apart to inspect the wounds, recoiling in repulsion at the red marks that were bleeding—though it looked more like they were oozing. It was not a serious or even deep wound, but to a little boy who'd only seen his own blood a few times, it was probably the worst thing he'd ever laid his eyes on. She smiled grimly.

"It's not that bad. See, look, it's already startin' to stop!" Hiccup's mother added cheerfully.

And indeed it was. A scab was already starting to form and the only thing left of the blood was a long, red smear across Hiccup's hand. He still stared at it with wide eyes, the whites overtaking the green, and it looked like he'd break down crying at any minute.

Valhallarama smiled and hugged the boy. She knew just how to cheer him up. "Guess what, Hiccup?" She waited a couple seconds, but the boy was still in a state of shock. She continued with a bright smile, "Ye just got yer first battle wound!"

Hiccup sniffled and rubbed his nose with his clean hand, eyebrows still bent low. "Really?"

She nodded excitedly as her boy brightened up considerably. "And ye didn't even cry! What a brave Viking yer goin' to be!" At this, Hiccup's grin threatened to break his entire face in half.

"Can we go tell Daddy?" He asked, eyes sparkling and wound forgotten. "He—he tolds me not to cry next time, and I didn't!" The boy added proudly. Valhallarama nodded with a somewhat forced smile. Her son was referring to an incident about a week ago, when her beloved—but completely clueless—husband gave Hiccup a verbal beat-down for something the child simply couldn't comprehend at his age and innocence. Upon being viscously confronted on a subject he didn't understand, the boy had understandably burst into tears. This, in turn, had earned him yet _another_ 'talk' about the Viking Way and Why You Can't Cry.

She truly loved Stoick, but sometimes, she was sure his parental methods would land Hiccup straight into the 'misfits' group of the clan. She gave a mental eye-roll at this; the idea of Hiccup, _their _son, being an outcast was just _too _funny.

"And I'm sure he'll be very proud, just like _me!_" She quickly jabbed at Hiccup's sides in quick succession and tapped her fingers against him, forcing a shrill shriek to emit from his throat at being tickled. Hiccup dropped to the ground, flipped over onto his belly with a huge smile, and dashed off towards the forest that sat right in their backyard. With a literal roar, Valhallarama gave chase, purposely moving in slow motion to let her son feel like he was winning.

It was when Hiccup actually reached the forest that she began to get worried, realizing that the clumsy boy could end up poking _another _snake and get himself hurt. Again. The Viking quickened her pace, shouting her son's name when he actually disappeared around a giant tree trunk with a delighted laugh.

"Hiccup!" Valhallarama called out, forcing the anxious edge out of her voice. Standing inside the brightly-lit forest, she couldn't help but keep a disbelieving expression off of her face. Hiccup had only been a couple meters in front of her, and yet she still couldn't see him anywhere! Where could a ten-year-old possibly run off to in such a short time?

With an aggravated (and slightly panicked) huff, Valhallarama began to put her tracking skills to good use, praying to the gods that Hiccup didn't stumble upon something more viscous than a garden snake.

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><p>Hiccup hugged his knees tighter to his chest, giggling at his cleverness. His Mommy wouldn't find him here! She'd have to search <em>for. Ever! <em>And when he saw her coming, he could scare her and show her what a great Viking he was! He looked up at the cliff-like overhang created by several rocks and tree roots slowly becoming one, forming a space just big enough for him to crawl into.

The little one didn't even register his mother's faint voice, too caught up in his own imaginings to properly respond.

Something in the grass moved violently, tearing his attention back into reality. Hiccup watched the grasshopper—a bug not seen very often since some Vikings had a nasty habit of eating them on sight—buzz its wings rapidly before using its oddly-angled hind legs to propel it up and out, spreading its giant wings to fly off.

"Hey, wait!" Hiccup gasped, chasing after it. He wanted to watch it more! It was funny-looking, but in a good way!

The bug swerved to the right and _bzzzzzzzzzzzz_ed its way over a fallen, eroding tree trunk covered with moss and holes. Hiccup stopped, crouched, and leaped, hitting the wood dead-center. He grasped tightly at the remains of a branch sticking out and pulled himself up with all the strength he could muster. But when he got to the top, he could only watch sorrowfully as the grasshopper he had just been chasing ascended and became too small to see, most likely going to be eaten by some mean grownup.

With a loud grunt, Hiccup crossed his arms and pouted. "I just wanted to play with you!" He grumped, glaring at the spot the grasshopper had disappeared into.

Hiccup jumped down from the trunk and aimlessly wandered forward, wondering if he could still catch the grasshopper and show Mommy and Daddy. Maybe he could convince them to let them keep it! They would name it Hoppy and live happily ever after!

He grinned at this, searching the air with eager eyes for his new pet. He couldn't wait to play with Hoppy! They could play hide-and-seek and tag and wrestle all day long!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his foot caught on something! Hiccup shrieked in fear when he finally brought his eyes down to see that he'd snagged his foot on a looped tree root, beginning to helplessly fall off the edge of an enormous cliff and to his doom-!

He landed on something hard with a thump and a grunt.

Said hard something jumped, let out a surprised squeak, and moved out from under Hiccup at a speed he couldn't comprehend. The boy rolled down the thing's back and landed on his belly in the dirt, gasping. He stared fearfully at the strange creature in front of him.

Similarly, the black panther-like animal had its back arched, was standing on its toes, and was giving Hiccup the same wide-eyed look. It looked pathetically cute, though, considered the pitch-black creature's shoulders were at the same height as Hiccup's normally would have been and its head was a little too large for its body. The two gazed fearfully at each other, neither moving an inch, frozen at seeing something they'd never encountered before in their life.

Hiccup carefully pushed himself off the ground and onto his knees. The panther-like animal's ears shot straight up and it squeaked, scrambling on the ground (and failing to move at all) for a few seconds before romping behind a moss-covered rock and jumping on top of it. There, it lowered its bunny-like ears and narrowed brilliantly green eyes at Hiccup, who was gaping at the strange animal's grace and thinking _I wish I could do that!_

"H-hi," Hiccup greeted the animal lamely. It tipped its head to the side and stared at him curiously, sniffing the air. The animal made a high-pitched, chirpy sound, which sounded like the noise that one bird Hiccup managed to trap in his house made. Then it slowly crawled from down the smallish rock and took a couple steps towards him on clumsy, oversized feet. It stopped abruptly to sneeze, which made its entire body recoil and almost made the cute little thing (or large, in Hiccup's perspective) loose its footing. In a flash of inspiration, Hiccup suddenly knew what this thing was.

There was only one thing this animal could be.

It was a cat.

"Kitty!" Hiccup cried in glee, smiling brightly and standing up to his full height. The kitty jumped and took a step back, green eyes cautious. Hiccup's own pair of emerald eyes quickly lost their delight and he lowered his outstretched arms in disappointment, feeling very much rejected. Why didn't it like him?

The kitty sniffed at him again and made a rumbly noise. Then, to Hiccup's delight, it started to walk towards him! He beamed at it, holding his hands out again and allowing the kitty to lightly poke at it with its nose. He giggled when it licked him with a bright pink tongue. It did like him! They were best friends now!

Hiccup wrapped his arms around the creature's neck and pressed his cheek into the side of the kitty's face, not noticing once how it jerked and let out a yip. The kitty struggled for a second, stopped, and whirred. Hiccup's hair ruffled when it snuffed at his head…and then, the kitty began to purr!

Hiccup let go and grinned at the kitty, holding up his injured hand. "Look!" He gloated. "I got this 'an didn' cry once! I'm the bwavest Viking in the world!"

The kitty sniffed his scar worriedly and yanked its head back with a yelp. Its ears stood straight up and it made several side-to-side glances, much to Hiccup's confusion. Did it think he'd just gotten it?

Several seconds passed with nothing happening but the kitty looking around. Hiccup quickly grew bored with this. He wanted to play!

Maybe the kitty was waiting for him to start the game?

"_Tag!_" He shrieked, patting the kitty's head (which made it grunt in surprise) and bolting away from it. He dashed behind the same rock the kitty had hid behind earlier, peeking around it to see that, to his great disappointment, it had _not _played the role of being 'it'. The kitty's head cocked to the side and it mewed at him, ears half-raised. Something on its side twitched…and for the first time, Hiccup realized it had wings!

_Unfair! _He thought. But that was pushed to the back of his mind, since the kitty _obviously _had forgotten what the rules of tag were.

With an exasperated groan, the red-haired Viking stepped out from behind the rock. "You're it!" He told the kitty. "You gotsa chase me! And when you get me, I'm it!" He smiled, pleased with himself, and waited for at least an acknowledging nod. But the kitty continued to look at him and make confused noises. He frowned.

"Here!" He decided. He ran back to the kitty, paused, and deliberately said, "Tag!" whilst poking it on its forehead. As soon as he said this, he turned around and dashed behind the rock again, peeking out only when he was fully behind it.

Understanding lit up in the black kitty's lime eyes. It let out a loud purr and pranced right over to Hiccup with startling speed and beauty, knocking him in the chest with his muzzle and chirping. The kitty whirled on its hind feet and dashed away, a strange chuckle-sounding purr rising from its throat. It paused to check if Hiccup was following it, and when he did, it let out a joyful shout that echoed off of the trees slightly.

The two continued to play tag, Hiccup usually relinquishing the 'it' positions because of dumb luck. But it didn't matter; his best friend was great and fun and nice! It didn't bother him that he didn't speak, because he didn't need to! They'd play every single day from now on!

A good thirty minutes had passed when Hiccup finally corned the kitty against a stone too big to jump on top of and tackled it, wrapping his arms around its neck and screaming, "_Tag!_"

The kitty wailed in dismay and dropped to the ground on its side, playfully batting at Hiccup and chirping rapidly. He stuck his tongue out at it and sat down next to the kitty, lying down on his back and turning h is head towards it. They both smiled at each other, panting slightly.

"That was fun!" Hiccup laughed. The kitty purred in agreement. It opened its mouth to make some sort of noise at him, but then it stopped. The kitty's large pupils darted up and withdrew into themselves until they became slits, its mouth dropped open slightly, and its ears lowered fully onto its head.

_Whuff. _Hiccup's hair flew in front of him and hot, moist air rammed against the back of his neck. His body instinctively stilled and his heart skipped a beat.

Hiccup turned his head to face it forward…

…and stared right into the furious green eyes of a monstrous beast.

"_AAAAAH!_" Hiccup screamed and held his arms over his head in a pitiful attempt to save himself. The beast's eyes narrowed and it snarled, showing a set of painfully sharp teeth that stood stark against its black scales. It reared up, wings widening, and began to make the most awful hissing noise Hiccup had heard in his life—

The kitty leaped up and stood over Hiccup, crouching low to the ground and swishing its tail. It looked the beast that was so much bigger than it right in the eye and let out a series of high-pitched yips and snarls. Hiccup held onto his kitty's legs, praying to the gods that it would protect him and promising himself that he'd never wander into the forest without Mommy again.

The beast rumbled at the kitty, showing no intentions of actually hurting it, and gestured with its head to move. The kitty shrieked at this and spread its own wings, covering Hiccup in a shadow. He marveled at the kitty's strength, and, suddenly, a wave of courage swept him off his feet. If his kitty could stand up to this monster, then so could he!

"Yeah!" Hiccup added onto what the kitty was 'saying'. He scrambled out from under it and stood up, squaring his feet and repositioning his helmet so it wouldn't fall over his eyes. "We're not a'scared of you!" He pointed a finger menacingly at the beast and narrowed his large eyes in an attempt to look scary. The kitty gave him a surprised look, shook its head rapidly, and squealed again at the creature.

The monster's eyes swiveled between the two, and, to Hiccup's astonishment, it loosened its threatening stance and sighed in exasperated defeat. The beast never took its dazzling green eyes off of the child, though, which made him uneasy. His eyes widened as he stared back, his toddler mind slowly telling him that this was no coincidence that the beast appeared alongside the kitty, and that it looked exactly like the kitty…only bigger.

"Are you my kitty's Mommy?" He asked the strange animal, tipping his head to the side ever-so-slightly. The beast's eyes turned to slits and it gave him a harsh look. It stood up to its full height, towering over Hiccup, and walked right in front of the boy and sniffed at his face. He cringed, expecting to be bitten, and squeezed his eyes shut.

The animal suddenly made a surprised "whurh?" sort of noise and took a very heavy step on the ground. Hiccup's eyes snapped open in shock. Was it going to eat him?

But the monster wasn't even looking at him; its ears were standing straight up and it was giving an intense stare off to the right. It swiftly turned its head around and moved towards Hiccup's kitty, who shrunk to the ground and let out a squeak of complaint, and grabbed it by the scruff of the thing's neck. Hiccup gasped at the incredibly painful-looking way to hold a child (why not just hold it?) and stepped forward to help his best buddy, but the beast opened its wide wings and jumped away, flying up towards a nearby cliff and landing on top of it.

At the same time, something burst out of the foliage, immediately capturing Hiccup's attention. His eyes widened and his breathing accelerated, realizing that he was completely defenseless without his kitty there to help him.

"Hiccup! Oh, thank Thor!" His Mommy had him scooped up in her arms and was embracing him within seconds, quite effectively cutting off his air supply and causing him to gasp for oxygen.

Hiccup's Mommy pulled back and sent him a glare that clearly said 'you're in a _world _of trouble!'

"Young man, where have ye _been?_ I've been searchin' high and low for ye!" She scolded harshly. Hiccup lowered his head and squeezed his arms against his sides, guiltily avoiding his Mommy's eyes.

"I found a kitty!" He answered truthfully. "We played tag but then—well, I think—its mommy came and took it away!" He whined the last part out, holding his elbow with one arm and kicking at the ground in disappointment. He hadn't even named it yet!

"Well, that's what ye get for leaving without me." His Mommy narrowed her bright green eyes at him, absentmindedly moving a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes and placing her robust hands on her heavily-weaponized hips. "Now, let's get home."

Hiccup cringed and nodded, knowing that he'd most likely have to deal with a spanking later. He took his Mommy's outstretched hand and held on tightly, walking at her side and desperately searching for excuses that could possibly save him from the punishment of a lifetime he was about to receive.

Then, he realized he'd forgotten something. His kitty! Hiccup walked sideways slightly and looked over his shoulder to try and find it.

Still sitting atop the cliff, the beast had his kitty in its jaws. The kitty was curled up, paws and hind legs held against its belly, and its tail was curving sharply upwards and flicking back and forth. Hiccup waved at it before both their mothers took them away, separating them from sight and never to meet again—possibly—forever.

If only he knew that he would meet his beloved kitty again in five years.

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><p><strong>Just out of curiosity, which do you think is better: lighthearted or serious oneshots? I personally prefer the serious ones, as you can tell. xD<strong>

**Hope you guys liked it! Have a great day!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon.**


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